Boot or shoe holder



No. 750,570. 7 PATENTED' JAN. 26, 1904.

W- U. BENKERT.

BOOT 0R SHOE HOLDER. APPLICATION II LBD APB. 18, 1901.,

iwo MODEL.

Patented January 26, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM C. BENKERT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

BOOT OR SHOE HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 750,570, dated January 26. 1904.

Application filed April 18, 1901.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. BENKERT, of the city and -county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Boot or Shoe Holders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to boot and shoe holders; and it consists of the improvements which are fully set forth in the following specification and are shown in the accompanying drawmgs.

It is the object of my invention to enable a boot or shoe to be firmly supported by a form or holder from the wall or at an elevation while it is. being cleaned or blackened and to permit the form or holder to be adjusted or enlarged or contracted to suit the size of the boot or shoe to be supported by it.

It is also an object of my invention to permit the enlargement or contraction of the form to be made within wide limits to suit all ordinary variations in the sizes of boots and shoes and to insure in all cases the firm support of the boot or shoe and a tight holding or stretching of the upper.

It is also an object of my invention to enable boots or shoes of any size to be applied to the holder and removed from it with facility and expedition.

It is a further object of my invention to facilitate the application or removal of a shoestring from a shoe while it is being supported by the holder or form.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, with part in vertical section, of a boot or shoe holder embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevationof the front member of the holder, and Fig. 3 is a similar view of the back member.

Theholder consists of two members, aand 6, corresponding in general outline with the interior of a boot or shoe and adjustable with reference to one another, so as to form an expansible or adjustable boot or shoe form. As shown, the member a constitutes the heel and back portion, and the member I) the toe and front portion. One of these parts, preferably the heel and back portion a, is adapted to be fixed to a stationary support or wall 0, as by the bracket (Z, and the other member, 6, is adjustable with reference to the member a.

Serial No. 56,376. (No model.)

The boot or shoe is slipped upon the members a or b, which are then adjusted to hold it firmly, and the movable member is secured to the fixed member in adjusted position. As shown, the bracket (Z of the member a is provided with a guide f,

and the member 5 carries an arm or extension 0, supported by and guided in the bracket (Z.

Any suitable means may be employed, such as the clamping screw g, for securing the parts (Z and etogether after the members a and b have been adjusted to the boot or shoe placed upon them. The movable member may be provided with a suitable handle it to facilitate the adjustment.

The member a is secured to the wall or fixed support 0 by the bracket (1, and the extension 0 of the member 6 is placed in engagement with the guide f. The parts a and 7) are then pushed together to form a shoe-form of small dimensions, upon which the boot or shoe is placed, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The movable member 6 is then pulled out to expand the shoe-form until the boot or shoe is firmly held, and the member Z2 is then secured in place. The shoe is then in position to be blackened or cleaned.

I prefer to make the general contour of the members a and Z) similar to a foot form or last, so that the boot or shoe upper will be well supported throughout. When the boot or shoe has been blackened or cleaned, the member b is released, the shoe-form is contracted, and the boot or shoe is removed.

The bracket d and guide-arm-e extend from the upper portions of the members a and b, so that they do not obstruct the top of the boot or shoe or interfere with the placing of them upon the holder.

It will be observed that the movable member is adjustable bodily with reference to the fixed member-2'. 6., is movable throughout its entire extent. This enables a very large variation tobe made in the size of the form to adapt it to any ordinary boot or shoe and permits the subjection of the upper to considerable tension, so that it may be tightly drawn or stretched, which greatly facilitates the blacking or cleaning of the boot or shoe. The wide variation in the extent of adjustment thus be held firmly and subjected to tension throughout, and the form may be adjusted throughout its entirety to suit the size of the foot-piece.

To enable a shoestring to be readily applied or removed While a shoe is upon the form or holder, I provide the toe portion 6 with a slot, opening, or recess e' adjacent to the instep. This feature of my invention may be employed without the particular features of adjustment described.

I do not mean to limit my invention to any of the details of construction shown, as they are shown for purposes of illustration and may be varied-without departing from the invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. In a shoe-supporter, a horizontal bracketarm secured at one end to a suitable support and having a bearing-channel extending horizontally outward from the point of support, a depending arm secured to said bracket-arm below said bearing-channel, a bar sliding in said bearing-channel, a depending arm on said bar, a heel rest or support on one of said depending arms and a toe rest or support on the other depending arm, and means securing said bar in adjusted position on said bracket-arm.

2. In a shoe-supporter, the combination of a horizontal bracket-arm secured at one end to a suitable support, a slidable member supported to move horizontally on said bracketarm opposite its point of support, a depending arm on said bracket-arm, a depending arm on said slidable member, a toe rest or support on one depending arm and a heel rest or support on the other depending arm, and means securing said slidable member in adjusted position on said bracket-arm.

3. A boot or shoe holder consisting of two members, constituting respectively the heel and toe portions of a boot or shoe form, one of said members being fixedly supported and the other being carried by and bodily adjustable on said fixed member, whereby the size of the form composed of said members may be enlarged or decreased to suit the size of the boot or shoe placed on them, said toe portion having an opening or recess adjacent to the instep to facilitate the application or removal of a shoestring.

AL. A boot or shoe holder consisting of two members, constituting respectively the heel and toe portions of a boot or shoe form, and adjustable with reference to one another to suit the size of the boot or shoe to be placed upon them, said toe portion being provided with an opening or recess adjacent to the instep to facilitate the application and removal of a shoestring.

5. A boot or shoe holder consisting of two WILLIAM C. BENKERT.

Witnesses:

ERNEST HOWARD HUNTER, J. W. KENWORTHY. 

